Scholastic Wrestling
Student works for a fall
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| Also known as | Folkstyle Wrestling |
|---|---|
| Focus | Grappling |
| Country of origin |
 United States
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| Famous practitioners | Jordan Burroughs, Kyle Dake, Cael Sanderson, Isaiah Martinez. |
| Parenthood | Wrestling |
| Olympic sport | Yes |
Scholastic wrestling, sometimes known in the United States as folkstyle wrestling, is a style of amateur wrestling practiced at the high school and middle school levels in the United States. This wrestling style is essentially collegiate wrestling with some slight modifications. It is practiced in 49 of the 50 states in the United States. When practiced by wrestling clubs of younger participants, scholastic wrestling is better known as "folkstyle".
According to an athletics participation survey taken by the National Federation of State High School Associations, boys' wrestling ranked eighth in terms of the number of schools sponsoring teams, with 9,445 schools participating in the 2006-07 school year. Also, 257,246 boys participated in the sport during that school year, making scholastic wrestling the sixth most popular sport among high school boys. In addition, 5,048 girls participated in wrestling in 1,227 schools during the 2006-07 season. Scholastic wrestling is currently practiced in 49 of the 50 states; only Mississippi does not officially sanction scholastic wrestling for high schools and middle schools. Arkansas, the 49th state to sanction high school wrestling, began scholastic wrestling competition in the 2008-09 season with over forty schools participating. Shortly after, Ocean Springs High School became the first school in Mississippi to have a high school team.
The history of scholastic wrestling in the United States is closely tied to the development of its college counterpart. The Eastern Intercollegiate Wrestling Association held its first tournament in 1905, which soon sparked many more wrestling tournaments for both college and university students and high school students. College and high school wrestling grew especially after the standardization of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) wrestling rules, which applied early on to both collegiate and scholastic wrestling (with high school modifications). More colleges, universities, and junior colleges began offering dual meets and tournaments, including championships and having organized wrestling seasons. There were breaks in wrestling seasons because of World War I and World War II, but in the high schools especially, state association wrestling championships sprung up in different regions throughout the 1930s and 1940s. As amateur wrestling grew after World War II, various collegiate athletic conferences also increased the number and quality of their wrestling competition, with more wrestlers making the progression of wrestling in high school, being recruited, and entering collegiate competition. Girls' scholastic wrestling has somewhat fuzzy roots, as girls from time to time would join boys' teams as early as the 1970s, and there have been established various private girls wrestling clubs throughout the U.S.. Most notable among these athletes was National Wrestling Hall of Fame inductee, Tricia Saunders. However, the first official, public-school all-girls wrestling team was formed in Brookline High School in Brookline Massachusetts by coach Dustin Carter; the team of 15 girls was formed in 1993 and became an official public high school team three years later. The first official U.S. Girls Wrestling Nationals was held 1997. Today, the various state high school associations continue to also host annual wrestling championships for individuals and for teams. At one time there could be no middle school wrestlers wrestling at the high school level, but today, middle school wrestlers can do this (according to procedures set out by their state association). In the past they could have had their wrestling eligibility taken away or other punishment. Generally, in all scholastic sports, when a middle schooler participates at a Varsity level, they can no longer compete in a Junior high or Middle School level (in that sport). NYSPHAA: NOTE: Students may be eligible regardless of age or grade if they have been approved through the State Education Department's Selection/Classification Programhttp://www.nysphsaa.org/Portals/0/PDF/Handbook/2016-17%20Handbook/ByLaws%20and%20Eligibility%20Standards.pdf
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